Alone Together
by TheDoctorsConstantCompanion
Summary: Finding out that there's someone out there who feels the same way you do can revolutionize entire worlds, magical or not. When two people fall in love there's no going back.
1. Prologue

There was only one word that could describe the way she felt right now, at this moment.

Alone.

Under normal circumstances, the library was her safe haven. The quiet sounds of quills scratching parchment, of pages being flipped, of robes being rustled, had been the perfect combination of noises that created what sounded like a symphony to her ears. Now, with each stroke of ink and tired sigh, her headache grew along with the pit in her stomach.

She bent her head down to rest her forehead on the cool, varnished wood of the cubicle. The papers she had been pouring over fell onto the ground but she made no move to retrieve them. Instead, a shaky breath escaped her lips as her hair fell in messy curls beside her cheeks, blocking her view of the rest of the library.

Hermione was tired. And angry. And most of all, she was lonely.

Lavender and Ron. Ron and Lavender. Everywhere she looked, she was reminded. And when she closed her eyes, as she did now, all she could see was their lips touching, his hands in the blonde girl's hair. With each second that her imagination ran wild, the more she felt out of control of her own feelings. And that was what she hated most.

It was illogical, her jealousy. If she had liked him so much to begin with, she could have gotten to him first. But they'd been friends for so long, she wasn't sure if she actually did want to, you know, be with him. Maybe it was just the attention she missed. Maybe she just assumed he'd always be there for her. Either way, all this confusion, all these messy feelings, were the most infuriating circumstances she believed she'd ever been in and would ever have the misfortune to be in.

Harry wasn't helping either. She knew that no matter what she said about that textbook, he wouldn't listen to her. And she knew that one day it was going to come back and bite him right where the sun don't shine. Then he'd come crawling back. Because she was right about this so-called 'Prince'. The way he (or she) wrote made her skin crawl. That's what these papers were for, trying to see if she could make a connection with any past students and this potions mastermind. But so far, her instincts were blind and she'd found nothing.

And then there was Malfoy. Oh, Harry would just not stop talking about him. "Malfoy's a Deatheater, I'm telling you!" or "If I could just see up that sleeve one time." or "It's in his eyes, he's pure evil, there's no doubt about it!" It was starting to sound like he was questioning his sexuality. For Malfoy, of all people. She knew that he was a prick, but she also knew dictators and tyrants. Muggle history told a lot about those who use power to fulfill their prejudiced actions, and those leaders never trusted the newbies with personal missions. It would be idiotic. And Malfoy wasn't exactly star of his class. No, he was a bad person, but not who Harry thinks he is.

With that, her two closest friends were preoccupied. Obsessing over girls and boys. Leaving her behind in the dust. Hermione was strong, but she was still a teenage girl. What she wouldn't give to have one conversation with either of them with their undivided attention. To feel like she mattered. Or that she wasn't going to crazy under all this stress. She tried talking with Ginny, but with her slim, athletic build and long, flaming hair, just by looking at the two of them she knew that in the end they had little in common besides the boys.

She hadn't felt this awkward since she'd been ten years old.

Back before she knew all this, before she knew why things would randomly explode if she lost her temper, or why if she concentrated really hard, she could make her books come to her instead of the other way around. It was a brilliant, confusing feeling. But she couldn't share it with anyone. The Grangers weren't a particularly religious family, their tendency towards logical thinking didn't lend itself towards that lifestyle, but she knew that anyone else who knew what she could do might think she was possessed or cursed or something. Because even though she was gifted with something so simply magical, she was still different. Before her magic revealed itself she was the overeager bookworm. Then she was the overeager bookworm with a secret she couldn't share.

And then she'd found her place. Here. At Hogwarts.

Turning her head on the desk, she blew the hair away from her face as much as she could. Unencumbered, she could breathe in the scents of the library. The old book smell, the lanterns starting to burn as the sun was setting. This was supposed to be where she felt at home, and now it was all slipping away.

She opened her eyes a sliver to look out on her surroundings. Dust was floating the orange sunbeams that turned the room a darkening golden colour. There were a group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors at a table across from her, trying to figure out their Transfiguration assignment. Working together to figure out what they were doing wrong when they tried the spell. It was a pleasant sight. Until one boy accidentally turned the blanket they were supposed to be making into clock into a giant palm tree instead. The girl next to him burst into laughter and his cheek blushed. Seeing this, the girl stuck out her tongue and then leaned forward towards him, pressing her mouth against his, her scarlet tie swinging as she grabbed onto his blue one. His lips curled into a smile against hers and the rest of the group cat called at them, disregarding the accidental vegetation they'd added to the library decor.

Hermione turned away quickly, trying to beat her imagination from morphing the boy's light hair into a mop of ginger. She lifted her head from the desk, shaking it a little despite the ache that seemed to rest in her temples. She had to get out of there. The air was stuffy and the sun was warm, and that wasn't what she needed right now. She needed fresh air, maybe an aspirin, and some sleep.

Bending down, she grabbed her bag and picked up the fallen parchment. As she left, she dropped the papers off on a trolley for Madam Pince to take care of later. Usually, Hermione would re-shelve her things herself just to extend her stay a little longer, but this was not that kind of day. Instead, she walked straight out the door into the corridor.

Walking through the halls, she already felt a little better. It was easy to get away from things she didn't want to see (like certain paintings who didn't know how to keep their mouths shut about gossip) and just getting the blood pumping through her legs was a relief. So much so, that she decided to drop off her things in the Tower before going outside. She wouldn't be able to sleep for another few hours and she didn't really feel like keeping all these books on her person as she wandered the grounds, so she began to bound up the stairs before they could move on her.

The farther up she got, the less people she saw. At this time of the evening, everyone was either already in their common rooms or still lazing around the Great Hall, picking apart their desserts. In fact, between the fourth and eight floor, the only person she saw was Malfoy, who didn't even seem to notice her as he rushed down the left corridor on the seventh floor. The absence of people in such a large open space felt freeing and the loneliness was less crushing.

All she knew now was that she couldn't wait to get outside.

…

There was only one word that could describe how he was feeling right now. One word in his entirely vocabulary that he never dared to admit to himself.

Scared.

As he hurried across the stone floor towards his destination, his head was clouded with thoughts that were all drenched in nervousness and desperation. But he wasn't desperate yet, no, but he was getting there. He had to do this. He had no choice. But he didn't know how.

He was already a couple months into his mission and he was nowhere near success. Crabbe and Goyle, who had given up on standing guard for him, were already starting to whisper behind his back about it. They didn't think he knew that they were, but he did. God, they could be such idiots sometimes. All the time. Whatever. It was just idle chatter, but he hoped it wouldn't spread to Zabini or Pansy. Or someone who's opinion actually mattered.

His robes were swirling angrily around his legs as he picked up his pace. There, opposite the tapestry, was it. Was his ticket to win back his family's pride. His ticket to survival. His only way to make it out of this mess alive. The Room of Hidden Things.

Draco reached forward and opened the door that hadn't been there only seconds before. He'd been here so much, the room was accustomed to his usual thoughts of "I need to get in". Laying in front of him as the door swung back was the most astonishing and random array of objects he'd ever seen, but the sight was familiar to him now. Everything about this mysterious Room was familiar. Sure, he'd always be finding something new inside it, and sometimes the layout would rearrange itself on him, but the smell and feel was always the same. It collected so much dust it was hard for anyone to breathe. But he always could, because he needed to. The Room vibrated with the secrets it held. It was tangible, the way the air was always full of a dry static that made his hairs stand on end. That was the one part of the place that he couldn't get used to as he walked through its aisles.

It took mere moments to find what he was looking for in the mess of a place. The Vanishing Cabinet, by the weird bust with a wig and crown and towering piles of books. But even as he approached it, he knew nothing had changed since the last time he'd come. He could tell. Every part of this damned thing was etched in his brain. When he opened the door, he saw he was right. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just like every other time he'd been in here. Fucking. Nothing.

Draco longed to just hit it. To smash the fucking thing to bits. Splinters could line his hands and arms and he wouldn't care because it would all be over. But he couldn't. He didn't know what was going in his home at this moment. If his parents were even alive. Maybe they'd done something else wrong to screw everything up for them, and he was just left here, alone. His friends had already given up on him, he wouldn't be surprised if his family had as well. Well, his father probably already had. He'd given up on him the day he was born. His mother might be the only person left in the world who could care for him.

So he just sat on the floor in front of it, staring up at it. It's black wood was rough and there were splinters littering the floor underneath it as if it had been tearing itself apart. His hands found their way up to his hair as his knees slid up under his chin. His pale hair was bunched between his fingers as he started to pull, tucking his head between his legs. It took everything he had not to scream.

That's one thing he wasn't sure of. Whether or not this place was soundproof or not. It's not like it came with a manual, or something simple like that. He had to play it safe. He had to make sure no one found him in here. Found the cabinet. It was easier when he had Crabbe and Goyle to stand guard but now that they seemed to have some semblance of independent thinking he would just have to be careful. Which wasn't too hard, since no one ever came up this way. The only person he'd passed today was that Mudblood, Granger, and she had seemed too preoccupied in her own thoughts to give him any attention. Not that he cared, it was all for the better that she didn't notice him. And he wasn't surprised either. She always acted like such a know-it-all, but what did she really know? She had her silly little issues with Weasley and new little bitch-girlfriend as they pranced through the halls together, the anger was written all over her face. But she had no idea what was really happening in the walls of the castle.

Potter was the one he had to worry about. It was like he had been stalking him since the beginning of the year. He'd hoped that breaking the bastard's nose would've sent him a clear enough message to "Stay the fuck away!" but apparently that kid was a masochist, or something. Draco knew that he didn't actually know what he was up to, but he was still someone he had to watch out for.

Always looking over his shoulder. Always being aware of who was around him at any given moment. Where Dumbledore was or where Potter was. Whether or not his apples would ever get back to him through the cabinet. He was tired of it.

Just tired.


	2. Chapter 1

All characters belong to J.K. Rowling and not myself, and belong to the HP universe.

Winter had finally descended upon Hogwarts as December decided to show up. The atmosphere of the Great Hall was giddy as bright white snowflakes descended lazily from the enchanted ceiling to evaporate a few feet above the heads of students that were chattering on about their Christmas plans, counting down the days until their break. It seemed as if no one had a care in the world. Of course, the opposite was true for the trio of Gryffindors that were seated, pushing their lunch around their plates.

"Have you still not invited anyone to... you know?" Hermione asked as quietly as she could, not daring to glance over to the ginger who hadn't said a word since they'd sat down.

"Nope," responded Harry as he stabbed his slice of pork with his fork. He'd been rather aggressive with his food lately, she'd noticed. At first she thought it was because his captaining of the Quidditch team hadn't been going well, but whenever she tried to ask about it he'd shrug his shoulders and change the subject. It wasn't like him to keep something that was so obviously agitating him a secret from her and Ron.

"Are you even planning to? I mean, I told you about what other girls are willing to do to try and-"

"Yeah, I know." He cut her off, looking at her over the top of his glasses which had started to slide down his nose as he bent over his food. "I know that it's tonight and I'm running out of time, I've got it. I just... I want to bring someone I like. Someone cool."

Hermione regarded him carefully as he directed his gaze back at his plate, continuously wondering what must be eating away at him.

"Just trying to look out for you, is all." She raised her own fork and chewed slowly on the meat at the end of it, knowing that the conversation was over.

"Won-Won!" A piercing shrill erupted from the aisle. Lavender appeared out of nowhere behind them, bending over Ron where he was sitting and hugged him around the neck. She planted a kiss on his cheek then pulled away with an obnoxiously wide grin on her face as she moved to sit down beside him. Ron awkwardly wiggled on the bench to give her more room, closing the space between him and Hermione. "What would you think about going for a walk tonight?"

"Tonight?" Ron shifted in his seat so he could face his girlfriend more directly, or not have to feel the other girl's judging stare, Hermione couldn't tell which. "Err... yeah, yeah, I can do that."

"Great!" Lavender grabbed his hand in both of hers and squeezed tightly. "There should be a full moon tonight and the lake will be looking lovely what with the snow and ice and all..." She droned on about how much fun they would be having as Harry and Hermione shared an exasperated look.

"Well, I should be heading off to get ready for class." Hermione rose from the table, carefully avoiding contact with the occupied boy whose cheeks were getting redder and redder the more his girlfriend talked. "Would you care to join me?"

Harry, grateful for the opportunity to leave, nodded his head enthusiastically as he too rose. With a small wave towards Ron and Lavender, the two headed out on opposite sides of the table before meeting up at the doors of the Great Hall.

"Oh, thank the Lord," Harry breathed out as they headed out towards Gryffindor Tower to get their things. "If I had to listen to her talk about the grounds for one more minute I'd have cursed her."

"Oh really?" Hermione shot him a look. "Now that I'd like to see. Nothing too violent of course, but anything to see that smug smile gone."

To that Harry turned to her and smiled himself. They both were so confused by this pairing, but at least it gave them something to talk about. If the subject of his textbook or Malfoy came up, they'd be left screaming at each other, unable to agree. With Ron and Lavender, they had an endless supply of annoyances to laugh about. At least, enough to last them until they reached the Common Room and the stairs to the dormitories.

"I'll grab my things and be right down, walk you to class?" Harry asked as he turned to head up the boys' stairs.

"I'm alright, thanks." Hermione smiled weakly as she started towards her own dormitories. "We're on opposite sides of the castle, I'm sure I can survive the halls on my own."

"Okay," He nodded back. "I'll meet you at Slughorn's then, yeah?"

"Sure, I'll see you there." And with that, she started up the stairs, taking it two steps at a time. She didn't even bother to look back. She had to prepare.

…

A dress, a few strokes of makeup, a ton of hair mousse, and one skipped class later, she was ready.

She was set to meet her date in the main hallway that led off to Slughorn's office, but he seemed to be running late. So there she stood, only slightly struggling for balance on her heels, and still unsure that this date had been the right choice. She knew that she'd just chosen him to make Ron angry, but she didn't know if she'd be able to last the evening with him. Just as she was about to give up on him and head to the party alone, no matter how embarrassing that would be, Cormac rounded the corner, dressed to the nines. His dress robes were of a classic style, and his smile was bright as he offered out his elbow to her. She wrapped her own arm in it and tried to return a smile as confident as his.

"M'lady," He murmured down to her, leaning his head down as if to kiss her on the cheek. Fuck.

Hermione leaned her head away but kept her arm in his, letting out a nervous laugh as she did so. Trying to recover, she looked back up at him and tried another grin. "Let's get to it then, shall we?"

Unperturbed, Cormac led the way to the party. Opening the door with one hand, keeping her hand wrapped tightly around the other, the sounds of loud music and talking seem to erupt as the crack widened. Letting themselves in, they joined into the crowd of people.

"Would you like some punch?" Cormac put his mouth beside her ear, only for convenience this time. She pulled away and nodded back to him. "Be right back." He mouthed at her as he turned to snake through the sea of people towards the food area.

Being alone gave her time to look around and see the party Professor Slughorn had managed to scramble together. He'd managed to make the ceiling here fake snow like in the Great Hall, as well as put up different Christmas decorations from different religions along the walls. Scanning the faces of the crowd, she saw a number of people she didn't recognize, and something told her not all of these were the faces of simply witches and wizards. A tall man with a sallow face who was accompanied by a shorter man showed unmistakeable signs of vampirism, while an even shorter man was hopping around and speaking in an incredibly loud Irish lilt. There were other professors here as well, none of which she really had any inclination of starting a conversation with right now. She was just about finished taking in her surroundings and about to look out the door to see if Harry was coming when a glass full of a pink liquid was shoved in front of her face.

"Here ya go!" Cormac forced the cup into her hand and then downed his own glass in a single swig.

"Thanks," she muttered as she sniffed the drink. It seemed safe enough, so she took her own small sips as she looked back at her date.

"So, I suppose you would like to hear more about me, right?" The curly-haired blonde kept stepping closer to her, and she had no choice but to stand her ground lest she start running other people over.

"Oh, err, sure," Hermione tried to put a hand out to stop him from coming any closer, but instead he grabbed her hand in his and started to hold it, rubbing his thumb along the side of her index finger.

"I've got no idea how I didn't make the Quidditch team this year, but I'm telling you this one time I was playing Keeper and I was the only one left on the field for my team, everyone else had been hit out by the Bludgers or called of the field, and so it was like seven to one and I managed to win-" Cormac leapt into his story excitedly, barely stopping to breathe between his anecdotes. He had this feverish look in his eye, and whenever he got to a particularly 'fascinating' save, he gripped her hand with wince-inducing strength and took another step towards her.

Hermione couldn't focus, between the party and the stories and the feeling of his breath on her neck, and it was a feeling she couldn't stand. Finally, having enough of it, she took a small step back and tripped on her own ankle, spilling her drink across his dress robes. At last he pulled away, assessing the damage, swearing indignantly at her.

"I'm so sorry!" She feigned her apology, gasping. "I'll go grab some napkins!"

Pulling up the front of her dress to avoid getting actually tripped, she rushed through the crowd, weaving to try and lose him amongst the people. She was almost already on the other side of the room when she heard her name being called by a not-Cormac voice.

"Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!" She saw that his date was none other than the Looney Luna Lovegood. Well, he could have done worse.

"What's happened to you?" He asked, assessing her disheveled state.

"Cormac." The one word was enough to stop his questioning. He gave her an 'I-told-you-so' look before she twisted her body to see if she could see McLaggen's head above the crowd headed toward them. "I think I see him, I'll meet up with you later!"

With that, she rushed off in another direction, careful not to tread on anyone's toes or call any attention towards herself. Making it to another wall, she hid herself behind a Christmas tree that was set up there, peeking through the branches to keep an eye out for the boy.

What she saw instead was Filch, dragging a different blonde boy by the ear towards where Professor Slughorn, Snape, and Harry were standing. The crowd in the area started to go quiet the closer they got.

The caretaker wheezed something to the group as the apprehended boy stopped struggling. As he stilled, she realized that it was Malfoy. His pale face was coated in a sheen of sweat, whether from nervousness or embarrassment she couldn't tell. After a few words were tossed around, Snape stepped forward and took the student be the elbow, forcing him into the hallway.

"There you are!" That dreaded voice blurted out beside her. Hermione cringed and turns towards Cormac as he started down at her in her hiding place. "And what would you be doing behind a tree, exactly?"

"I, er," She couldn't meet his eyes so she scanned the crowd, looking for some excuse that could maybe be plausible. Instead, she saw Harry whispering something to his date and then heading out the door of the party, reaching under his cloak for something on his way out. She turned back to her own date, determined to leave no matter what it took. "I'm having really bad cramps and headaches."

"What? Why-" The realization of what that insinuated hit him like a brick as his mouth turned down at the sides, disgusted. He obviously wasn't getting any tonight. "Oh. Did you need, uhm, anything?"

Hermione started to edge her way around him so she was closer to the crowd than the tree. "I think I'm just gonna head out for the night. You know, otherwise this might turn into a migraine and who knows what would happen then."

Cormac nodded in understanding, now he was the one unable to meet the eyes of the other. He stepped aside, letting her pass by, and so she headed out. _Boys. _ Shaking her head, she darted her way back through the crowd and to the exit. Once in the corridor, she caught a glimpse of Harry's sneakers disappearing under his Invisibility Cloak by the door of an empty classroom. Thankfully, the loud music and general roar from the party masked the sound of her heels on the stone so she was able to sneak up on her friend from behind without him noticing.

She was about to reach out and tap his shoulder when she heard the name "Bell" mentioned from inside the room. Like, Katie Bell. She pressed up her ear to the cold stone wall. Finding that she could barely hear anything, she reached for her wand which was tucking into the side of her bra strap. Tapping the wall twice and pressing her ear up to it again, she found that she could hear almost everything in the room now, including the scuffing of Malfoy's feet and Snape's low drone as he spoke.

"Listen to me. I am trying to help you. I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco-"

Hermione pulled away, stifling a gasp. So, Harry was right. Snape was trying to help Malfoy, but with what? She pressed her ear against the wall again, having missed a few lines of the conversation.

"I've got all the assistance I need, thanks, I'm not alone!"

"You were certainly alone tonight, which was foolish in the extreme, wandering the corridors without lookouts or back up. Elementary mistakes."

Wandering alone, like she'd seen him a couple days before. Alone. Rushing through the halls, like he was on a mission. No, Harry couldn't be right about this. Malfoy couldn't be what he thinks he is.

"You want to steal my glory!"

She'd heard quite enough. Malfoy sounded like he was ramping up, arguing with Snape, and she knew the Professor wouldn't stand for it. Quickly, she hurried to the next classroom over and snuck through the door. As she was closing it behind her, she heard the other one burst open. She hoped that Harry had moved in time. Pressing up against the wood she could tell that Draco had stormed off, and no one was making a fuss about any eavesdroppers, so Harry must be fine. After waiting a solid five minutes, trying to process what she'd just heard, she tentatively opened the door again and stepped out. The corridor seemed empty.

"Harry?" She called out, hoping that he was still kneeling somewhere, invisible. No such luck. Maybe being to talk through it with him, they'd be able to reach a logical conclusion. If he weren't so dead set on the Slytherin being evil.

Hermione didn't waste anytime getting back to the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping to catch him waiting around there for her. Again, nada. Tomorrow, he and Ron would be heading back to the Burrow on the train, so there wouldn't be any time for her to discuss this all until classes resumed. She was staying here for the Christmas break. Her parents were spending the holiday in Spain this year, and though they'd invited her she knew that she needed to the time to herself. Assignments had only gotten harder this year, and she still had to figure out what she wanted to do when she was done at Hogwarts, and what grades she'd need in what classes, etc. etc.

Resigned, she pulled off her heels and, holding them in one hand, dragged herself up the stairs towards her dormitory. Collapsing on the bed, she gave way to sleep; dreaming of good and evil, of blonde and black hair, and of right and wrong.


End file.
